Ylisse, 750 years later
by KomoriRin
Summary: Kouei only wanted the emerald; he didn't expect to meet a time traveller, fight the Grimleal, or become involved in a plot to erase all of Chrom's descendants from Ylisse! Set 750 years after the events of Fire Emblem: Awakening, with lots of original characters. Rated M for blood, violence, and minor language (just to be safe!) my first fic so please review, i want criticism! :D
1. An Unexpected Meeting

**So this is my first fanfic, I'm going to use mainly OCs because I don't trust myself enough to write about real characters ^-^ please review and critique so I can get better!**

**I don't own Fire Emblem or Intelligent Systems, just my OCs. I'm supposed to write this, right?**

**Chapter 1: An Unexpected Meeting**

**I'm bad with titles… :(**

The sun was a bright, glowing orb in the spring Ylissean sky. It hurt Kouei's eyes to look at the shimmering sphere, so instead he busied himself watching some birds that appeared to be playing tag and imagining that there happened to be clouds in the sky for cloud watching; however, the sky remained as devoid of clouds as a newly forged sword is of blood.

The boy lay out on a hill. Farmland spread out on all sides like a great rural quilt. The little knoll he lay on was bright green and the morning air was filled with the fragrances of spring and the soft chirrups of birds and insects. A small Ylissean town was visible in the far-off distance; and a dirt path, completely empty of passerby, stretched its way like a mud-colored serpent toward the village until its' end was lost to the human eye.

The blue expanse remained cloudless. _Someone needs to come by soon_, he thought miserably, _before I die of boredom_. Looking up at the sapphire nothingness, his hair wreathing his face in a cobalt halo upon his cloak (currently being utilized for its pillow-like properties) when he heard it. The distinct sound of a snuffling horse and a creaking carriage spread through the air, rising above the springtime background noise. Kouei immediately rolled on to his stomach to look. He peeked over the short viridian grass, and saw the carriage.

A small white horse was pulling it, little more than a pony, really. The carriage itself wasn't really a carriage at all, just a simple two-wheeled cart filled up with bags and boxes; Kouei recognized a tent and some food. _They must be travelers_. In fact, 'they' were little more than two girls; one about his age, sixteen-ish, with a pale pink horse-riding outfit and an elegant walking stick that looked like it had been made by some professional walking-stick fashion designer from Ylisstol. If those types of people existed; he'd never been to Ylisstol, but from what he'd heard of the extravagant capital city, it was certainly possible. The fluid metallic object and whimsical design of the cane, coupled with the half-clear bluish glass ball on the top made it look like it would fetch a nice price, but was it worth it to get? Nah.. On the other hand, the intricately designed crystalline flower fastened in the girl's short blonde hair, that framed her doll-like face, was certainly worth looking into. But it was probably just glass… his gaze traveled from the first girl to the second, who couldn't have been more than twelve, her very long, green hair fashioned into twin tails that stretched below her waist and were patterned with multicolored beads. She was wearing a cute summer dress that spun as she danced, singing, in front of the horse. That was when he saw the light, as the sun glinted off something in the carriage. Something that was a pale, sparkling green; and appeared to be half a foot in diameter. There was no mistaking it, that something was a gem of some sort-probably an emerald. A really, really big emerald.

Kouei's pale violet eyes brightened up-not with the light of greed, but with the light of hope. He had absolutely no idea where two traveler girls would manage to get a jewel of this magnitude and value, unless they were thieves like him. The blonde girl with the crystalline flower hairpin moved with the poise of a noble, something hard to miss, so he found it unlikely. Kouei mentally steeled himself for what was to come- him stealing the gem. The sheer luminescence of it created an aura of beauty that seemed almost magical, unmistakable proof that it was an object of value. Emerald, not glass, like the older girl's staff orb or hairpin could be. He felt bad about it, the whole scenario. He had been watching two girls whilst hidden on a hill and it felt dangerously close to stalking, and now he was planning to steal their mysterious, beautiful emerald. Kouei had a good reason, of course, but still, he mentally cursed himself. After this escapade was over and done, he promised himself he'd become a monk or something to make up for it.

He lay facedown, unmoving, on the hill as the two went by. The green-haired girl skipped ahead, spinning and singing, as the other girl followed. Her eyes were closed and she hummed along to the tune (it involved Naga, Grima, and the Four Heroes) as she walked, hand on the horse's mane for guidance. Kouei silently slipped down the hill, aiming to reach the back of the carriage, grab the emerald, and escape- but as he reached the road, something that felt like two booted feet smacked into his back. He yelped, automatically realizing the girls had heard him and that it was quite an embarrassing noise to make in front of two girls anyway, as two legs and a body followed the feet. Someone had fallen on top of him, but from where? _I'm positive I was alone a second ago_, he thought as his face hit the dirt.

**Yay! First chapter down… it's kinda short, oh well. ^-^ after this opening road scene plays out, I'll go into exactly what time period this is, and how it relates to the events of Awakening.**


	2. Marth Enters

**I'm going to try to publish the first five chapters a bit fast (as in, the next day), so people can get a sense of what exactly the story's about, instead of just reading about some thief who fell on his face :)**

**I don't own Fire Emblem, Intelligent Systems, etc.**

**Chapter Two: in Which Marth Makes a Slightly Embarrassing Entrance**

Kouei couldn't breath. Whoever had fallen on top of him had chosen to do it in the worst possible manner; with whatever heavy body part it was on top of his head, pushing his face into the dirt road. Time seemed to stop for a split second; the only sounds to be heard were the chitterings of insects and birds, and the apparently oblivious little girl still singing (now the song was featuring the ancient heroes Chrom and Robin). The humming and carriage noise had stopped. Then the booted person leapt up and backwards. Kouei felt a thump through the ground as the two pain-causing feet landed behind his.

He rolled over slowly, knowing he would soon see the face of his assailant, accidental or not. _Did he know I was going to rob the carriage?_ he thought to himself as he turned to see their face, which was hidden under an ornate navy blue mask, and encircle by slightly lighter blue locks. The person held down a blue gloved hand, saying, "My apologies." It was deep, but not in the normal way. It sounded fake, like the masked man was speaking in a lower tone than usual on purpose. Not answering, Kouei's black gloved hand met the masked stranger's blue one cautiously, as he got a better look at the man. Or boy, as he appeared to be only a bit older than Kouei, and appeared somewhat feminine. He was dressed in a regal-looking blue tunic, tall boots (also blue), and a short blue cape with red inside. He also had a dangerous looking sword attached to his belt, shimmering gold in the afternoon sun. The stranger stared back, clearly scrutinizing Kouei as much as Kouei was scrutinizing him.

"Excuse me, are you all right?"

The soft, feminine voice jolted them both out of their thoughts, and as one they turned to face the older of the two girls. Her large blue eyes, surrounded by a wreath of long lashes, expressed concern but also vigilance_. Never trust someone you meet on the open road_, thought Kouei, as he answered, "Somewhat, thank you." The other boy nodded in agreement. The girl inclined her head towards her younger travelling partner (utterly ignorant to the entire situation, still dancing and singing), and called out, "Nia! Come here!"

Nia, breaking out of her melodious reverie, turned to face them, and smiled broadly, revealing sparkling white teeth. "Hey!" she called out cheerfully, directing her announcement at the boy in blue. "You came! I guess that means it's time!" The mysterious boy nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. Nia's older companion spun around to face her, exclaiming, "Ni! Do you know this guy?"

Nia grinned. "Of course I do!" she said as she walked across the path to them, her long hair bobbing as she moved. "This is Lu-"

"You may call me Marth," interjected 'Marth,' giving the little girl a pointed look. Well, as pointed a look as one can give when a mask is obscuring half their face. Nia's mouth shut with a quick look of understanding towards Marth. Her companion missed it, but Kouei picked up on it. He'd always been told he was very perceptive, and this Marth character was piquing his interest.

Her excessively loud mouth open once again, Nia proclaimed, "OK, Marthy's here! That means its' time." She turned to the blonde girl as she spoke, who looked just as confused as Kouei felt, maybe moreso. Next she spun on her heel, walking back toward the carriage and its horse, who had been waiting patiently the whole time. "Alrightees!" she called back. "Marth, Muleeta, let's get movin'!"

"Priestess, wait, " said Marth in a serious tone, just as Muleeta was saying softly, "Go where…?"

"We still have a small issue to deal with," said Marth. "Him."

Nia looked confused. "Him who?" Sighing, Marth pointed out Kouei, who hadn't moved since standing up except to dust himself off. "Oh, THAT him!" said Nia with a laugh. "You should have said something before, Marthymarth!" Behind her, Marth gave himself a little slap on the forehead and Muleeta just sighed.

Nia strutted over to Kouei. He mentally cursed himself once again, this time for not leaving the entire situation when he'd had the chance, it had just been too fascinating. "Who're you and what are you doing here with these girls?" asked Marth from behind Nia. "Um…" Kouei murmured. He'd always been great at thinking on his feet but his brain usually outthought his mouth. "I was, uh, going to warn them."

"About what?" Nia said, giggling. "There's nothing to be afraid of here! Except maybe Mr. Horseykins over there." She cracked up at her own (incredibly unfunny) joke as she pointed at the little pony who now appeared somewhat grumpy, as Marth repeated her question, "Yes, what did you wish to warn them about?"

"Um, the bandits!" said Kouei, immediately earning himself a mental slap. _What bandits!?_ Cuttingly, Marth countered with the same question Kouei had just thought, but was answered by Muleeta.

"I think he means those ones…" she said quietly, gesturing with a pink clad index finger toward some figures on a nearby hill. Silhouetted against the clear blue sky, their large axes were clearly discernible, and when they began to run towards the little crowd on the road and wave their axes, their intentions also became quite apparent. _Damn, what have I gotten myself into?_

**Chapter 2 done! Yay, this is fun!**

**Well, they're gonna fight the bandits in the next chapter and I'm going to explain every bit all, including blood splattering and gory stuff… and Kouei just cursed… should I change the rating to M? Or is T OK?**


	3. First Bloodshed

**This chapter is a lot longer than the other ones. ^-^ It'll be the normal chapter length from now on.**

**Sadly I don't own Fire Emblem or Intelligent Systems or else Kouei, Muleeta, and Nia would be playable characters!**

**Chapter 3: First Bloodshed**

The bandits charged forward until they stopped about twenty feet away. Kouei instinctively did a quick spin, his cloak swirling around like an inky cloud, and speedily counted all the bandits surrounding them. There were seven: four axe-wielders, two with swords, and an archer. _We're sitting ducks for him out here on the open road. _Kouei attempted to accumulate any more information he could about the current circumstances. The carriage could be used as an effective, if diminutive, barrier against any arrows the archer decided to launch. He didn't know if Nia or Muleeta could fight, but it was always best to assume the worst.

"We're outnumbered," said Marth under his breath. _Oh, its 'we' now?_ thought Kouei. _I'm not sure whether to be happy there actually are bandits to prove my story, or to be scared that there are bandits that could kill me._ He cringed at the thought of the word kill. He still had an obligation to keep. He couldn't die yet; he'd have to get out of this alive no matter what it takes. Even if some of the bandits had to die instead.

"Nia, Muleeta," Marth whispered. "Get behind the carriage." Nia simply smiled broadly at him and didn't move an inch, while Muleeta edged over to the pony. "It's okay," she chanted softly. "The brave men will save us." Marth hissed something Kouei couldn't quite hear, probably involving disobedient children, than turned to Kouei. "I see you have a weapon, " he said, gesturing at Kouei's belt, where a short sheathed sword was attached. He also kept a few throwing knives in a leg holster. "Can you fight?"

"I don't have much choice, now do I?" said Kouei a bit too cynically than he'd meant. He'd never been in a real fight to the death before, never killed anyone. It took some mental preparation if he was going to endure the coming battle. Thankfully, the whole time they had been talking, the bandits had been as well. A few of them were clustered on the road farther down, most likely discussing which way to kill them or how the loot would be divided. Kouei shuddered. _Don't think about that_. He had to think about fighting, and stabbing, and killing… And now he felt slightly nauseous.

Marth tensed beside him, readying his sword, an ornate golden blade that looked more valuable than the giant emerald that had been in the carriage. Kouei looked up and slowly took out his own sword, as the biggest of the brigands had taken a few steps toward them.

Now the muscle bound man stood crossing his arms over his shirtless chest and smiling a smile even wider than Nia's. "I see we've found some little boys and girls on the road today." If at all possible, his smile widened. "You know, the roads are dangerous these days. Bandits everywhere. Not a good choice for a double date."

At 'double date,' Marth blanched slightly.

Grinning right back at him, Nia stepped even farther away from the cart. "And just to make sure, are you guys bandits?" she inquired sweetly.

The burly axe-wielder's own smile turned from one of forged cordiality to something feral and wild, resembling the face of the wolf whose skin he wore as a cape. "Why, yes we are."

Suddenly his arm flashed up in a signal, and the archer loosed an arrow directly at Nia. Her grin changed also- going from charming innocence to cool confidence. "Well, I feel sorry for you."

In a flash, Nia was in the air, twisting and twirling like a master gymnast. She landed on a single palm and leapt back again in a full back-hand-spring, ending up directly on top of the carriage. The arrow thudded where the girl had been standing only a couple of the seconds ago, yet now she was five feet away.

Kouei and Marth didn't have time to wonder about Nia's surprising jumping skills; the highwaymen were hurtling down the hill at them like a herd of angry bulls. Marth stiffened, than dashed to meet them. An axe-wielder raised his weapon to attack the blue-clad swordsman. Marth didn't even stop. He moved to the left slightly so as not to crash into the man, raking his blade, shimmering in the sunlight, across the bandit's exposed chest and side. Marth's speed was on a whole different level; the man hadn't had the time to even launch his attack. Instead, he ended up with a red gash across his chest that was even bigger than his arm, which began to ooze quickly as he groaned, stumbled, and fell. The blood began to form a small pool around his unmoving body. Kouei, shocked, took it all in, but Marth didn't even look back as he locked weapons with the next brigand in his line of sight. Kouei gulped quickly and stepped to engaged a swordsman that was rushing him.

Metal clanged on metal and sparks flew. The song of the battlefield was upon them: the clashes of weapon on weapon and the death screams of Marth's newest victim, the grunts as each man swung his weapon and the liquid splurts made by them. Kouei and his opponent were evenly matched swords-wise, it seemed. _But I have something he doesn't. _Blocking an arcing overhand slash with his sword in one hand, he grabbed his throwing knife and threw it sidearm, in one fluid motion. Pain flashed through the enemy swordsman's face as he stumbled and clutched at his shoulder. The wound wasn't near fatal and probably hadn't even pierced past the skin, but it gave Kouei the edge he needed to launch the attack. Soon his sword had bitten deeply into the bandit's side and the blood spewed like a geyser. Time slowed as individual rubies stopped in midair like fluid red fireworks, than landed everywhere: sword, bandit, face, clothes. The wounded man slumped to the ground and pushed his hands onto the injury before he fell unconscious. At least he's not dead, Kouei thought. The battle had taken less than a minute but seemed like much longer. Suddenly a girl's ear-piercing scream rang out. _Muleeta_! Kouei swiveled swiftly to see the blonde girl, clutching at her horse's mane as if it could protect her as the second swordsman stalked slowly over, smiling at his easy kill. "Hey girly, maybe we shouldn't kill you. The boss might like a new plaything." She brandished her walking stick at him, her blue eyes hardened, but he just chuckled. _I can't reach her in time._

"Watch out!" Marth's battle-ragged cry sounded from behind him, and Kouei felt something sharp sink into his back- _shit!-_ but only about a millimeter. He gasped and stumbled forward, than spun quickly to see the large bandit who'd been talking earlier, his axe stopped in midair by Marth's sword. They were lodged together like a woodcutter's axe and an especially stubborn piece of firewood. Marth grunted and staggered visibly under the weight of the bigger, stronger man.

Suddenly he looked at Kouei, nodded, and a second later pushed both weapons upward in a sudden burst of energy. The bandit hadn't been expecting this tactic, and stumbled slightly, his arms flailing away from his exposed chest, heart, head. And Kouei knew what he had to do. Like a lockpick in a keyhole, he stepped forward and inserted his bloodstained blade into the bandit's open defense. He felt the squelch as the sword sank into flesh and realized with horror that it was the man's face. He must have leaned forward to steady himself, and ended up impaling his own face. Kouei grimaced with disgust and yanked the sword out as the bandit's hands reached up to cover the wound that was now bleeding quite profusely. The powerful man lurched about, almost hitting Marth who dodged out of the way. Kouei wasn't as lucky; still recovering from his attack, he was unable to evade the staggering brigand as he crashed into him. As Kouei fell over, he back fell onto an axe that was held in the death grip of his first kill. Pain arced through him, his eyes widening.

Suddenly, he saw the charred body of the bandit who'd been intimidating Muleeta fly through the air with the force of the fastest wind magic. The scorched body crashed into the brigand's leader, and both of them crumpled to the bloodsoaked soil, one still screaming. _What!?_

Kouei lurched off the axe and fell to his knees, holding his wound. He saw in his peripheral vision the last surviving bandit's look of sheer terror as a cerulean orb of what looked like crystalline fire blasted into him. The poor brigand was catapulted by the explosion into the still-cloudless sky and sailed over a hill. Marth stood by coolly as if azure fireballs detonated on bandits all the time. Kouei's gaze swiveled to the direction the orb had come from, and gasped in astonishment to see a large white-green dragon hovering over the carriage, sparkling with even more glory and mystique than the girls' emerald. _I must be hallucinating_.

His gaze shifted downward to the horse, who looked quite bored, and Muleeta, who seemed to be upset at the flying lizard.

"Why didn't you do that sooner?" she called up at the winged creature, stomping her foot in a most unladylike manner. "That bandit was creeping me about!" Kouei wondered why anyone would intentionally scream at a dragon, and was surprised to hear Nia's voice, although slightly different, come out of it's somehow smiling jaws.

"Sorry, Muleeta! I was having too much fun playing peek-a-boo with that archer to grab my dragonstone!" giggled the dragon. Seeing a dragon giggle is an altogether strange and somewhat frightening sight. In response, an arrow bounced off her gleaming scales with a tinging noise. A burst of gleaming blue fire escaped the perfectly aligned fangs, followed by a strangled scream further up the road. The useless arrow tumbled down to land in the wagon, which now looked less like a wagon and more like a pincushion due to all the arrows embedded into it. After cleaning his sword with a fallen bandit's wolfskin, Marth sauntered over to Muleeta and the Nia-dragon, sliding his gleaming sword into his belt as he went.

"He needs healing," Marth said to Muleeta, motioning in Kouei's direction. _Oh good, no one forgot about me_. "And Nia," continued Marth, exasperation evident in his tone, "kindly stop doing dragon flips in the air, and help out."

Muleeta ran to Kouei, leaping over dead and unconscious bandits as if it was an everyday occurrence. Which, Koeui mused, might be the case if your traveling companion can obliterate anyone who even slightly bothers you with blue magic fireball things.

The blue-eyed girl now stood above him. "Hey, thanks," she said, sounding surprisingly sincere, "you helped protect me and Nia, and I don't even know your name."

"It's Kouei," he said, as she lowered her 'walking stick toward him. "And after seeing Nia fight, I don't think you really needed my help." He winced as the staff, for it was a magical staff, touched his injury, but the pain went away as the healing energy flowed out in a blue-green aurora.

"But still, it's the thought that counts," she said with a smile, as Kouei watched his wound in amazement; the blood was sucked back into his body and the skin knitted itself back together overtop, leaving behind no sign at all that there had been even a slight scratch there, besides the cut shirt. He saw tiny cuts and bruises on his hands that he didn't even know he had fix themselves.

"Wow!" he looked at Muleeta with wonder evident in his iris violet eyes. "That's so awesome!"

"Thanks," she said with a slight blush, "It's not me though, It's this Mend staff." Before he could say anything to contradict this, Marth strode over. "Thanks for the help, um..." he fumbled for a name.

"Kouei," Muleeta and Kouei said at once, and Muleeta giggled. "Okay, Kouei," Marth answered. "I see your fighting style focuses on speed and evasion, and I noticed your lockpicks." Kouei looked down at his belt, where they were attached. "I assume you are a thief and you know how to use them," continued Marth, "and I'd like to ask if you would join us in this journey; we could use someone with your skills."

**Yay, Nia's a manakete! I have a question about Manakete ages though, if anyone knows the answer. Nia is meant to be a little younger than Nowi is in Awakening, and Nowi's like 1000 so how old would that make Nia…? I suck at math :(**

**Let's just say Nia was around in Awakening, but she was just a baby manakete. How fast do manaketes grow? They're so confusing. And do taguels live as long as them? Research is needed I shall do that now~!**

**And yes if you're wondering: Nowi, Tiki, and maybe Panne, Yarne, and Nah (I don't know how fast half-manaketes age either uwaaah!) will be included in this story later.**

**Have a happy day ^-^**


	4. Conversations

**Apologies for the delay~!**

**This is just random thinking but I thought I'd include it… wouldn't it be cool (and make sense) if Ylisse became more technologically advanced over the years? Like kinda steampunky. Like how Avatar: the Last Airbender turned into Legend of Korra.**

**Except there was a 3,000-year difference or so between the original games with Marth and the Ylisse in Awakening, and nothing advanced technologically. And it wouldn't really feel like Fire Emblem anymores… anyhoo! Just random thoughts XD**

**Thanks Total Nerd Girl for reviewing all my chapters and helping out with manakete research :3**

**Kouei, Nia, and Muleeta: "Thanks Total Nerd Girl! And also our beloved author only owns us, not Fire Emblem or Intelligent Systems. We know, it sucks."**

**Chapter 4: Conversations**

Contemplation. That was the correct term for what was going through Kouei's head. "Marth," he said, "You'll have to tell me what and where your journey's going first." Muleeta nodded. "I'd like to know, too. This is the first time Nia's mentioned you, Marth, and whatever she meant when she said, 'it's time.'"

The masked swordsman sighed. "Nia," he called over to the young girl, who was currently busying herself by yanking arrows out of their carriage. "It appears we have some explaining to do."

She skipped over. "Yes, Marthymarth-kins?" Muleeta crossed her arms. "No, Nia, not Marthymarth-kins. I want to know what's going on. I've been travelling with you for almost my whole life and you never mentioned anything like this."

Nia, for once, stopped smiling. "Muleeta…" she began. "I'm a Manakete, and a Priestess of Naga. I have duties. One of which is finding the Four Holy Weapons that were lost long ago. That's why Marth is here. He's a time traveler, from the past. It has been foretold that the future of this realm will fall into ruin, and he's here to help stop that. The Fell Dragon Grima will return prematurely, and without any of the Holy Weapons no one will be able to stop him." Kouei and Muleeta gasped. They'd both heard their share of stories about Grima, the Fell Dragon, and how Exalt Chrom had defeated him with Naga's Exalted Falchion, and how the Four Heroes had done so five hundred years later. They knew Grima was purely evil, the embodiment of darkness. His return and no Holy Weapons would mean an almost certain end to humanity.

"But it hasn't been five hundred years since his last return!" exclaimed Muleeta. "Nobody's prepared, the Holy Weapons are lost… but he can't awaken yet! His slumber lasts five hundred years, and it's been about half that time since he last came."

"We're suspecting the Grimleal," said Marth quietly. "The cult has been keeping quiet the past couple hundred years, but they're the people who know most about Grima and probably the only ones who actually want him back." As utterly strange and improbable Marth and Nia's story was, Kouei and Muleeta found themselves inexplicably believing it without a doubt.

"Okay, so Marth's a time traveler who came to meet Nia the manakete, and locate the lost Holy Weapons to prevent the coming apocalypse," Kouei said. "That about right?"

"Yup!" cheered Nia, suddenly happy again. "You got it!"

"So it's actually got nothing to do with me or Kouei?" murmured Muleeta. "Of course it does!" answered Nia. "You're my friend, Muly-muly, so you're coming on our fantastical quest too. We could use your staff. And Koko here has just been hired by Marth to be our little group's official stealth master!"

"But he hasn't yet," said Marth. "He hasn't agreed yet. Do you have an answer, Kouei?"

"Well," said Kouei. "I will have one, after two questions."

"Ask away, we're all ears!" giggled Nia, cupping her palms around her elfin ears.

"Okay, question one," Kouei said. "Will I get any money for my work?" Muleeta's mouth opened slightly and Nia, of course, giggled some more.

The edges of the masked man's mouth twitched, a slight smile. "It's a fair question," he said, "And the answer is yes. When this is over, and if we win, we'll have saved the world. You may well end up living in Castle Ylisstol." At this, Kouei's eyes lit up as Marth continued, "And question two?"

The light went out as soon as it had turned out, as Kouei sighed heavily. "Is there a chance… we could die?" In response, he received three stares. The masked one was expressionless, the green one's cheer had lessened, and the blue one's had widened as if they had just realized that fact, too.

Immediately Nia made an attempt to lessen the tension by saying, "Pfft! I'm a dragon. I'll eat anyone who tries to kill us." She was ignored and Marth posed a better answer, "It's a possibility. However, by the time this is over, there is no doubt we will have made allies. We will protect each other. So yes, we could die, but it's not a high probability." Kouei nodded, taking this in, as Muleeta did the same.

Kouei didn't know what was going through Marth, Nia, or Muleeta's heads, but he knew what was in his. The chance to have all the money he could have ever wanted, with the threat of death hanging over it like a jet black, scythe-wielding cloud. Then again, if he died, his family would never find out, so they wouldn't have to mourn. And if he got the money, he could return to arms wide open. He opened his eyes and turned to Martb's expectant face. "I'll do it," was what came out of his mouth, but in his head he was thinking, _of course, I can always just sneak away if things get too dangerous._

The man in blue nodded quickly, once. "Okay. Let's first clean up this mess," he said as he gestured at the surrounding bodies. "Are any of them unconscious?"

Kouei nodded, pointing at the swordsman he'd been fighting earlier. Marth began issuing orders. "Alright, everyone. Muleeta, you heal this bandit. We'll take him to the Southtown's jail. Nia and Kouei, help me with the bodies." The four acquiesced to their respective tasks. Even though he'd never killed before, Kouei was used to dealing with and seeing death.

"Hey!" cried Nia in indignation, glaring at Kouei as he rolled over a corpse and emptied its pockets. "Stealing from the dead is… it's bad!" Kouei looked back coolly. "And why is that?"

"B-because!" she stammered. "They're dead! So it's… bad! Besides, it's gross." Kouei rolled the now penniless corpse into a ditch on the side of the road. "Nia, their souls have left them. They have no use for the money now." Nia harrumphed as Marth rolled another dead body into the ditch, but not before rummaging through that brigand's pockets, too. Kouei looked at him in surprise. "Kouei's right, Nia," he said softly. "Besides, they're bandits, it probably wasn't theirs' to begin with. In this world, it's kill or be killed, and the winner needs anything he can get his hands on." He whispered this in a faraway voice, as if in remembrance. _Our world isn't that savage; maybe he's remembering the one he came from. He is a time traveler, after all._

The conversation appeared to be making Nia feel uncomfortable, so instead she walked over to their wagon and began yanking out the remaining arrows. Marth and Kouei concluded their morbid task in silence.

When the bandits had been buried- even though they robbed the dead, they still had morals- Kouei and Marth walked over to the now wagon, no longer full of arrows but instead full of the holes they'd caused. Muleeta was seated on the corner, dribbling some water into the previously unconscious bandit's mouth. He was lying in the wagon and still looked out of it, hardly moving. Half of the water that entered his mouth dribbled back out. With a slight shock, Kouei realized he couldn't have been more than eighteen. In the heat of battle, all you see is the enemy, but they are faceless. The hazes of war befog the eye.

"He lost a lot of blood," murmured Muleeta. "I healed his wound, but it was deep. He should be fine if we get to Southtown soon." Nodding, Marth walked around to the horse and soon the first part of the four's journey together began, plus one near-dead bandit.

Fighting was, simply put, exhausting. As they trudged towards the cheerful glimmering lights of Southtown, questions flew through Kouei's head like fireflies with superspeed. Questions about Marth, time travel, Manaketes, the Four Holy Weapons, the respective pasts of each of his companions, what Marth planned to do in Southtown… they went on and on. The day had been slow until he had first sighted the emerald- _dragonstone_, he corrected himself- and had been a rush after that. Now he was far too tired to participate in questioning Marth, and just wanted a soft, cozy bed to sleep until noon in. Hopefully this little daydream would come true. Slowly, the small party plodded past the heavy-eyed guards on watch duty into a sleepy Southtown. It couldn't have been later than seven, but the town exuded an aura of drowsiness and warmth, like a family after an excessive family gathering feast. They walked slowly until they reached a cheery inn, then stopped. "Muleeta, could you rent some rooms for us?" Marth asked, dropping some coins into her outstretched palm.

"Sure," the healer yawned, and stepped inside. The lethargy seemed to be affecting everyone. "Nia and Kouei," Marth continued. "Go around to the stables and fix the horse up, than bring the wagon's gear up to the rooms Muleeta will have rented for us." They nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Marth said, hefting the bandit out of the cart and onto his shoulder, earning a groan. "I'll take our friend here to the town jail, and make sure they give him some food and water. Meet you in a few minutes." He spun on his heel and began to walk off, brigand in tow.

"Sure thing!" Nia called after him, waving. "Okey-dokeys, let's get Horseykins fed and unsaddled, and go sleep!" Kouei followed her and the horse with the carriage into the stables. Nia unsaddled the horse as a stable boy got some hay and Kouei separated the horse from the cart. As the two of them began to grab sacks of supplies, Muleeta came out of the inn's side door, and together the three of them managed to bring all their important supplies to the two rooms Muleeta had rented. "Each room has two beds," she explained. "One room for the boys and one for the girls." Marth arrived just as they were finishing and was directed to his and Kouei's room by a smiling Muleeta, who went into hers. Nia followed and slammed the door shut, shouting, "Sleepytime!"

Kouei walked into his room and sank onto the bed, feeling its' softness and coziness with fingers sorely needing those two resources. Marth sat down on the second bed somewhat awkwardly. "You know," Kouei said, his face buried in the pillows. "You can go sleep with the girls."

The "man" named Marth jumped slightly; the first time he'd lost his cool, calculated aura since arriving. "W-what?"

"You don't have to pretend around me," said Kouei. "Or any of us, really."

"But how'd you know?" asked Marth, surprised.

"It's pretty obvious." Kouei answered, rolling over. "You've been dropping hints all day."  
"I have? Yeah, I guess I'm out of practice."

"So what's your real name?" Kouei was now looking at the masked person, elbows on the bed, propping his head up. His lilac eyes sparkled with curiosity as his blue clad companion reached up and removed her mask, shaking her head as she did so. Apparently, the mask also served to hold her hair up, and it flowed onto her shoulders, an azurite cascade. "My name is Lucina," she answered, opening her eyes; both brilliant blue- but one with a strange marking on it. "Like the famous Exalt Lucina?" asked Kouei. "Going from one historical ruler's name to another, are we?"

The girl called Lucina smiled slightly. She was actually very pretty. "No, I am the Exalt Lucina; that is, an alternate version. It's complicated."

Kouei nodded sagely. "Yep, time travel." "Uh-huh." The two sat looking at each other across the beds for some time, until Kouei finally cleared his thought. "Well, uh, I'm kinda waiting for you to leave so I can get changed and go to bed and stuff, so-"

"Oh!" Lucina gasped, her eyes widening. "I didn't realize! I'm so sorry! I'll ask to get a cot so I can sleep in the girls' room!" Kouei laughed, "It's okay, we're all tired. And I assume time traveling is quite taxing on the body." Lucina nodded quickly, gathering her mask and other things and heading towards the door. "Speaking of time traveling," continued Kouei. "When you landed on me, was that when you'd fallen out of the time traveler portal thing?"

"Yeah it was, sorry about that," said Lucina, opening the door. "Quite the entrance," commented Kouei behind her.

"I must be taking lessons from Cynthia," muttered Lucina to herself.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Goodnight."

"Oh, OK. 'Night."

**Okay, the next chapter will be short and introduce some new characters living in Ylisstol (who Lucina and co. will meet later on, and are important to the story) while explaining stuff about the Four Heroes and Holy Weapons (history I made up that happened between Awakening and this story).**

**Please critique and review!**

**Have a happy day! ^-^**


	5. Alisse and Kainah

**Sorry for the really long delay… stuff happened.**

**So this is a short chapter introducing some new characters that live in Ylisstol. They're important to the story and Lucina and co. will meet them once they arrive in Ylisstol. They'll also go over the history I made up that occurs between Awakening and my story. The next chapter will go back to Kouei, Muleeta, Nia, and Lucina.**

**This chapter is a bit short, but it was supposed to be anyways. ^-^**

**Enjoy :D**

Dark and dusty were the most fitting adjectives to describe it. Sitting forgotten in the bowels of Castle Ylisstol, the library rarely saw a visitor. Light played over the rows upon rows of bookshelves, shining through a small number of tall, thin windows. Dust motes danced in the sunbeams. The only sound heard was the soft flip of pages being turned, echoing throughout the cavernous library. The current castle librarian sat on a dusty cushion in the corner, engrossed in the books on a small table next to her. She was small and thin, even though she was in her twenties; with blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun, intelligent green eyes, and grey-rimmed spectacles. She was presently participating in her favorite activity: reading her family's records.

Long ago, following the defeat of the fell dragon Grima by Exalt Chrom, the librarian's ancestors Miriel and Laurent had established themselves as both royal librarians and record-keepers. Subsequently, their descendents had continuously added to the records, eventually compiling large, heavy books full of historical documentation. It was the librarian Alisse's favorite pastime to read over these humongous tomes, imagining the adventures the heroes of old must have had. At the moment she was reading over one of her favorite stories, the tale of the Four Heroes.

*The Tale of the Four Heroes (Paraphrased Form)* i made this history up

When Chrom had defeated Grima with the Exalted Falchion, Grima hadn't died. He had risen five hundred years later. Of course, by this time, Chrom was no longer alive and his descendants ruled Ylisse. Naga realized that Grima might try to have his minions destroy the Exalted Falchion, the one weapon that could defeat him, before he rose; so Naga transformed the holy blade into four separate weapons that each held a fraction of the Exalted Falchion's power and could each be used in the dark dragon's defeat. These weapons were the sword Wo Dao, the lance Rex Hasta, and the axe Hauteclere; as well as the holy tome, Book of Naga. The Divine Dragon chose four heroes to wield these weapons during the Fell Dragon's return. Ephale was the Prince of Ylisse during this time, a scholarly young man gifted with the Book of Naga. The other heroes included the traveling swordmaster Lina, axe-wielding Valmese revolutionary Releth, and the Ylissean knight lancer Aone. Aone was Alisse's favorite; in all the records he seemed to be the embodiment of chivalry.

The four heroes banded together to defeat Grima and won, settling down in Southtown with their families afterwards. Unfortunately, five years later they went on another quest and disappeared along with the four holy weapons.

*End Story*

Alisse sighed and shut the book with a resounding thump, causing her to sneeze as the dust engulfed her; echoing around the room. Alisse loved that story and knew it well (she could probably recite it word for word if need be) but the ending always depressed her. Unfortunately, the current Exalt was doing nothing to search for the weapons, leaving the future uncertain. In fact, he wasn't doing much of anything lately. Alisse had nothing to write about in her record books, it seemed, except news of the newest bandit attack (and there seemed to be a lot of them lately). Feeling like a failure at her own job, she curled up onto her dusty cushion, than jumped when she heard a voice behind her.

"Stop moping around, Alisse. Have you found anything out yet?"

Alisse whirled around, almost knocking off her glasses. "K-Kainah! How long have you been here!?"

Standing in the dimming light of one of the castle windows stood the eighteen-year-old Crown Princess Kainah, who was also Alisse's best friend. As always, she wore a lovely pale blue and white gown that made Alisse slightly jealous (she wore only drab mage's robes), and her perfectly straight blue navy blue hair flowed down to her knees. Kainah was quite famous for her hair- rumor had it that it took her maids (all ten of them!) two hours to wash and comb it every morning. Her somewhat low cut dress revealed Naga's mark on her heart. Kainah was actually the second of the Exalt's four children. The first, Prince Auron, had renounced his claim on the title of Exalt long ago. The other two were the twin son and daughter Aruka and Ireana of Exalt Alheim's second wife, Queen Sevena. They had been born to Sevena before she married Alheim, and as such were not entitled to Exaltdom. Kainah was the only one with that destiny. She was also fairly paranoid (in Alisse's opinion), which was why she was here.

"No, I didn't, Kainah," Alisse replied, uncurling herself from the cushion to face her friend. "Just let it go."

"I won't!" Kainah said. "I know there's something off about Sevena! You just need to find history of it." Kainah believed Sevena was trying to become Exalt herself and was poisoning Alheim. It was certainly plausible. Alheim and Sevena claimed Alheim's first wife, Galeesha, had run away; but there was never any evidence of this. Sevena and Alheim had been married just days later. Ever since the wedding, Alheim's health had been deteriorating rapidly, and he did whatever Sevena wanted (and when she didn't want anything, he just sat and did nothing). She now made all the laws, effectively ruling Ylisse, but mainly just spending lots of money and dismissing everything happening outside the capital's walls as insignificant. The great halidom of Ylisse was certainly in decline due to her rule.

"I looked everywhere," Alisse answered wearily. "And I mean everywhere- all the records of anything happening in the last century." She gestured at the surrounding shelves, stocked full of tomes.

"What about the century before that?" demanded Kainah, grabbing a thick nearby volume and leafing through it rapidly. Alisse flinched at her treatment of the book.

"What, you think she's immortal now?"

"No! It's just… I don't know…" Kainah sighed and sunk to the floor, dress and hair spiraling around her like a blue-and-white puddle. Alisse squatted down, too. "What is it, then?"

"There's something off about her, Alisse." Kainah said. "I don't know what, it's just something about her. Have you seen her eyes up close?" Alisse shook her head. In truth, she avoided the queen, too. She did just seem a little creepy. Unearthly, even.

"They appear human, but they look old." Kainah whispered. "Like, the eyes of someone who has experienced a lot. And they have a somewhat feral feeling, too. Like a wolf. A very manipulative wolf."

Alisse stood up and reached down her hand to help Kainah up as well. She knew Kainah well; they'd been friends since they were children running around the castle, irritating servants. She wasn't usually like this; she was strong and fearless, exuding a sense of regality and self-confidence that only a member of the royal family could pull off. In fact, Alisse had never seen her like this ever, or anything close to it. Sevena must really freak her out. Alisse made a promise to herself to find any information about Sevena that she could, with renewed vigor. "It's okay, Kainah," Alisse said soothingly, hugging her friend. "Auron's visiting next month. Why don't you leave the castle with him?" Kainah nodded and set her jaw, the familiar fire kindling in her clear blue eyes.

"Another month with her? Yeah… I think I can do that."

**Dun dun dun! More characters! The story will go back to Lucina and Kouei for like five chapters or so, than switch to Alisse and Kainah for one; and continue like that until they meet.**

***note: I didn't make up the four holy weapon's names; they're real Fire Emblem weapons (so if they sound familiar... it's cuz they are)**

**Have a happy day ^-^**


	6. Senna and Cail

**Yeah, there was a delay again… sorry ^-^ But the next chapter will probably be out soon, as I'm working on it as a continuation of what I just wrote.**

**Also on a random side note, I've posted little mini-bios of all the characters that have been introduced so far on my profile so my readers don't lose track of the OC overpopulation ^-^**

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In the dimming two-bed inn room, Muleeta was entering into that point of delirium halfway between dreams and reality when there was a timid knock at the door.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, slowly sitting up as her Manakete companion leaped out of the bed next to hers. "Whozzat!?"

"Marth," said a voice behind the door. "I have to talk to you."

"What, now!?" Muleeta muttered to herself, as Nia skipped to the door and flung it open. Muleeta clutched her blanket to her. She most definitely did not want some man she'd just met to see her in her pajamas! But the person standing behind the door was not a man, but a young woman. Marth had taken off her mask and let her hair down- revealing that she was a girl. Muleeta was mildly shocked; but if you travel around with a childish dragon priestess you're entire life, you get used to seeing strange things.

"Oh, Luci-Lu! You're not being Marthy-Marth anymore?" Nia looked up questioningly. "Marth" smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, I was hoping to masquerade as Marth for a while, just like I did the first time I time traveled," the girl explained. "My name is actually Lucina. I'm going to keep being Marth in public, but as Kouei pointed out, there's no point keeping secrets from my traveling companions if I'm going to be with you for a while."

Muleeta raised an eyebrow. "How do we know you're not lying about your identity this time?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, don't worry, Mulymuly," Nia replied instead of the blue-haired girl. "This actually is Lucina. As in, young alternate-future Queen Lucina as a time traveler. I've met her before."

"Oh," said Muleeta, blinking and turning to Lucina. "Is that all you wanted to tell us?" She yawned. "Well, okay than, but I'm going to bed now. I'm sleepy."

Lucina gaped and turned to Nia. "Wow, she accepted that pretty fast." Nia responded with a big grin. "Yup, that's Muleeta for you. Do you need anything else?"

Lucina blushed a bit. "Yeah, a place to put this cot. I'm switching rooms."

Nia winked at her as she helped move the cot. "Oh, did our thiefy-wiefy kick you out because you're a girl?"

"Not really, it just got a bit awkward."

"Oh." Nia smiled hugely as the bed was put in place. "Well good night, Luci-Lu."

The girl formerly known as Marth smiled back. "Good night, Nia."

The next morning arrived and passed, as the four travelers slept peacefully on. A knock on the door sounded well past breakfast time, waking the three girls from their slumber. "Hold on a moment," a drowsy Nia called towards the door, as she heaved herself out of the big, comfy bed and stumbled towards it, rubbing her eyes.

Lucina speedily donned her mask as Nia opened the door, revealing the innkeeper's daughter, who's eyes widened at the sight of Lucina and Muleeta on the other side of the room, helping each other find their clothes in the conglomeration of bags.

_She still thinks I'm a boy_, Lucina realized in a moment of sudden mortification.

An "Ahem" diverted the girl in the doorway's attention from the 'couple' in the corner to the small girl directly in front of her.

"Oh, u-u-umm, yeah," she stammered, embarrassed for staring. "Senna is waiting downstairs for you."

"Who?" asked Nia in confusion.

"Senna. She's our town's resident healer. She has something to tell your group and says it's important."

"Oh, okay thanks!" the Manakete said with a grin. "We'll be down soon. Just have to get dressed."

The innkeeper's daughter blushed again, than scuttled away, thinking scandalous thoughts about the indecent couple in the room. Lucina sighed. "Okay, let's get dressed quickly and meet this Senna. Nia, go tell Kouei to do the same, would you?"

As the group of four tramped down the stairs to the restaurant and bar part of the inn, they drew the attention of a young girl in a white priestess's robe. She had large turquoise eyes and thick lashes, with twin pink ponytails held in place by bands of white flowers. A staff hung on her back. "Senna?" asked Lucina in Marth form.

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**Author's Note: When Lucina is in public, she acts as Marth to keep her true identity a secret, so I will refer to her as Marth and as a he. When she is with people who know about her and drops her masquerade, I'll refer to her as Lucina and as a she.**

* * *

"Yes," the girl nodded, standing up to shake his hand. "I'm the town cleric. I have some information about last night." Marth looked at her questioningly as Nia interrupted loudly, "Can we get breakfast? I'm starving!"

Senna nodded and raised her hand to call over a waitress. "I'll only be a minute."

After they had ordered their breakfasts (or lunches, as it was now around that time) Marth inquired, "What do you mean when you say about last night?"

"That bandit you brought in last night. I was called in to heal him. A simple Mend staff can only do so much."

Muleeta looked slightly pouty at this, and Marth pressed on. "What about him?"

"Well, it's complicated. First of all, he's mute." This strange piece of information got the attention of all four of the travelers. "But he gave me a letter and expressed that it be delivered to you." She pulled out a piece of paper from one of her big robe sleeves and handed it to Marth's blue-gloved hand.

The masked warrior unfolded it to find that it simply read, "Thank you for saving my life."

"I, for one, found that intriguing," Senna continued. "He wasn't at all like other criminals I've dealt with over the years. He had…" she paused, searching for the proper word. "…A certain sense of honor about him. I was curious, so I gave him a pad of paper and a pencil and began asking him questions."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Marth asked. Senna frowned slightly. "Well, I was getting to that." She was interrupted yet again by the arrival of the food.

"Well, I found out his name is Cail. He's also from Valente." She received blank stares. "It's a small dukedom in Valm. He said he caught by slavers one day while going on a pilgrimage to the Mila Tree temple, and ended up as a slave to a bandit named Sephilius. That's why he attacked you. Now you've saved his life and he owes you a life debt and would do anything to repay you."

For her monologue, she received more blank stares. Finally Marth spoke. "And you believed him?"

The cleric blinked. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

Marth looked exasperated. "He's a bandit, Senna. They can lie, you know."

"Cail is not lying", she replied, blinking again. "I know a liar when I see one, he's not a liar."

Nia giggled and did a facepalm behind Marth, as he said, "You. Can't. Trust. A. Bandit," slowly, enunciating every word.

"Well, Mr. Masked Man, as the town cleric, it's my duty to protect the people of this town," Senna said, standing up and putting her hands on the table. "That includes those occupying the Southtown Jail."

Marth sighed and rubbed his forehead. "So what, exactly, do you want me to do?"

Senna smiled slightly as she sank back down into her chair. "Come with me to visit him; I want him to be able to thank you in person. He would have died if you hadn't brought him to town, or healed him."

"So that's all you wanted to tell us?" Marth asked in quiet frustration.

"Yes," the healer replied, blinking.

_Than what was the rest of that monologue for?_ Wondered Marth in his mind, but out loud he replied, "Fine, but I have to talk to the rest of my group first. We have other things to do, too." He promptly turned around to talk to Kouei, Muleeta, and Nia; leaving the blinking cleric slightly perturbed.

"I guess I'll have to visit the jail if we're going to get on with our journey," Marth said to the others. "Nia, could you gather the information I was originally going to gather? I now have business to attend to, it seems." He handed Nia three slips of paper. Each had a drawing of a person as well as their names. "Who are they?" Kouei wanted to know.

"They're descendants of the Four Heroes," Marth explained. "Before they disappeared, the Heroes settled down in Southtown and formed families. These people are our best leads to finding the Holy Weapons, so we have to find them."

"There's only three," Muleeta pointed out. "But there were four heroes."

"Ephale was a member of the royal family," Marth reminded her. "Most of the family's members today are related to him." Next he gave a list to Kouei, which included Vulneraries and other travel necessities. "You're job is shopping. You should probably get some better weapons and armor for yourself, too." He dropped a few coins into the thief's hand as he nodded in acknowledgement.

"What about me?" asked the one member of the group without a task.

"Your job is to check out of the inn and prepare the cart," Marth replied. "It would be best to gather information and leave Southtown as soon as possible. We're going to have a long journey ahead of us." Each person and nodded and headed off to complete their respective errands.

Marth remembered where the jail was from last night, so it wasn't much of a problem getting there. He arrived with Senna in a few minutes. The cleric led him to Cail's cell, passing the fat jailer at his desk. The former bandit was sitting in the corner. He was tall with short, spiky, brown hair and a normal swordsman's outfit: clothes with some light armor on top for freedom of movement. When he heard them, he looked up, revealing clear blue eyes.

"Look, Cail!" said Senna. "I brought you Marth." The swordsman stood up, smiling slightly in recognition. He reached for the pencil and pad of paper on the small cell table, and scribbled something down fast. He held it up for Marth to see.

The paper read: "In my home country, if someone saves your life, you owe them a life debt. You saved mine. But I'm in jail so I can't really help you; but if you ever need an ally in the future, come find me. I owe you a life debt and will do anything to help you."

"Um, you're welcome," said Marth awkwardly. "I'll, uh, remember that."

That's when the screaming started outside. Marth and Senna sprinted to the door in time to witness a hand axe fly past them, hurtling right towards a young girl in the street. Marth immediately launched himself to forward, drawing Falchion in midair, and managed to graze the axe so that it changed direction slightly, missing the girl by a centimeter and hitting the side of a building instead.

"Go," Marth whispered, and the girl nodded, her eyes wide, and took off. The masked swordsman slowly turned as Senna joined him in the street with a stifled "OhNaga," to see a large group of brutish-looking men standing at the village gates, waving a variety of weapons. They stood above the bodies of the gate guards, bleeding from multiple wounds. "Bandits," Senna whispered.

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**Yeah, kind of a dull chapter, but I promise lots of fighting next time ^-^**

**Please review and have a happy day XD**


	7. Enter the Fox

**I'm so sorry this took forever… I even said in the last chapter that I would publish this soon afterwards w I won't go into why it took all summer to publish a new chapter; stuff just happens :P**

**Anyhoo, I also realized that this is the second time I've had a cliffhanger ending involving bandits attacking. I'll try to change that :D**

**Ok, here's the chapter! Because I took forever, I'll make it double length!**

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"Someone in this here town killed some of me mates last night!" roared a large axeman, even bigger than the last bandit leader had been. "We was gonna sack this town anyway, but now we has a reason so we's doin' it early!" he waved his dangerous killer axe menacingly. "So get ready to die!"

The other bandits surrounding the leader laughed brutishly, as he pointed his axe forward. At his signal, the bandit force's archers and mages began launching fire arrows and spells at the various town buildings, causing the townsfolk to come running out, clutching valuables. Marth winced as a few were cut down, and Senna looked at the verge of tears.

A few arrows hit the jail and set it ablaze, and the fat jailer blundered out, followed by absolutely none of the prisoners. "He's just going to let them burn!?" Marth yelled, and he and Senna raced back inside in the midst of the fire.

Marth rummaged around on the jailer's desk in panic, as the flames grew higher and smoke filled the air, until he grabbed a key ring and ran over to the cells, where Senna was attempting to console the frightened prisoners (thankfully, there were only three: two emaciated-looking older drunkards, and Cail). He frantically unlocked the cell doors, and the two first two prisoners rushed out, yelling "thank you!" over the blaze and making a beeline to the door. Cail just nodded.

A strangled scream came from the doorway- the first prisoner had met with a bandit coming to investigate the building, and gotten sliced across the neck by a sword. The bandit methodically dispatched the second freed prisoner with a thrust through the body, but before he could reach frightened Senna, Marth leapt and slashed his blade horizontally, catching the brigand's neck and beheading him.

Behind him, Senna almost puked and Cail simply closed his eyes for a few seconds.

By now, the smoke, heat, and flames were getting to be unbearable so Marth tried to hurry them out of the building, but the cleric refused to move over the three bodies and one head in the doorway, instead shaking her head and clutching her staff. In the end Cail just slung her over one shoulder and they ran out the door, into pure chaos.

Buildings on fire lined the streets as townspeople and bandits ran every which way, screaming and yelling and looting. Some of the town's guards had arrived, but were in disarray and were no match for the marauding attackers. Thankfully most of the villagers had retreated farther into town, as the bandits were still only around the entrance area and first few streets.

Marth steeled himself. He knew he would have to fight; either to protect Southtown or just to escape alive- the amount of bandits was immense, more like an army than a common raiding party. It was unusual. Marth turned around to regard Senna and Cail, the former of which was sitting on the ground with her face in her palms, saying, "This is not happening… it can't happen… there have been no bandit attacks in over one hundred years here… it's a dream… it's all a dream…"

Marth gasped. No bandit attacks in one hundred years in a small, out-of-the-way place like Southtown? _The world has really changed_. However, that did explain the confusion and sloppiness demonstrated by most of the town guards. _Southtown really has no chance if that's the best they can do to defend themselves._

Marth heard the clip-clop of horses' hooves and turned to see Muleeta riding toward them on her pony, Mend staff at the ready. "Marth! Senna!"

"Muleeta," said Marth in response as her horse slowed to a halt next to him.

"What are we going to do?" Muleeta asked him, blue eyes wide.

"I don't really know," said Marth, and Muleeta's eyes widened even more. She was looking to him for guidance because he seemed like the calm, capable type; but this time he was at a loss. There were just too many of them. "I guess we'll have to fight our way out of Southtown."

"But what about Kouei and Nia? And the rest of the villagers?" she asked.

"No," said a voice. The two turned to see Senna standing up slowly with her back to them. "No. We are going to protect this town. I am going to protect it. It's my job to protect it. And you are going to help me." She spun around, turquoise eyes blazing as bright as the fire surrounding her. "Let's go."

She walked over to Muleeta and swung herself up behind her on the white pony. "We need to ride around and heal people with our staves," she told the blonde-haired girl imperiously. "Marth and Cail- you bring the fight to the bandits. They're probably not expecting any kind of serious resistance after the guards' failed attempts so you can take them by surprise."

Cail looked at Marth for confirmation. With a start, Marth realized that the former prisoner hadn't ran off to rejoin the bandits attacking the town- instead he'd been helping Marth and Senna. _Maybe his story is true._

The swordsman in blue thought for a couple seconds, than nodded quickly. "Alright- but if we start to get beaten by their sheer numbers; we will retreat."

"Are you sure?" asked Muleeta.

"Yes," said Marth. "Judging by their attacks yesterday when I fought them, most are just brutes without much skill at true fighting. We can quickly attack them in side streets and buildings so as not to get overwhelmed by their greater numbers."

During this conversation, the group had retreated behind the burning prison, which is why they weren't being attacked at that point. "Let's go," said the masked man, and the rest nodded and split up.

Marth and Cail (who had picked up the beheaded thug's discarded sword) snuck through the side streets, and could easily overpower the various single bandits roaming the town with their combined strength. This was the first time Marth had paired up with anyone in battle since coming to this time- it felt good to having someone watch your back, and Cail appeared to be an expert at it. While fighting for the bandits, the mute swordsman didn't have any true purpose to desire to fight; but now that he was getting a bit of revenge and fighting on his own free will, his swordplay began to shine. Also, because he was mute and couldn't communicate with his partner in battle, he seemed to have developed a style that played off his partner's strengths and didn't need any form of communication.

After defeating some lone wandering bandits and helping any lost townsfolk, Marth and Cail began encountering larger groups of enemies. By now, the two had gotten the hang of fighting with each other and were cutting through the raiders with ease. During the ordeal, Marth realized he was trusting the mysterious mercenary with his life_. I trust him completely now._

Suddenly they found themselves back on the main street, looking at the angry face of the bandit leader and surrounded on all sides by his forces. With a start, Marth realized they had fought through all of the side streets on the right of the main one and had wound up back where they started. It had gone so fast that he hadn't even noticed. "I guess we'll have to fight a bit more," he said, leveling Falchion and nodding at his mute partner, who did the same with his blade.

Than the scene exploded as all participants launched themselves forward, weapons prepared to strike. A wordless battlecry sounded from the leader, as a sea of his minions closed off the duo's path to him.

The pair developed a good technique- Cail swung his bigger sword in wide arcs, keeping the bandits at bay, while Marth used his smaller rapier-like blade to speedily dispatch the enemies one by one as they were thrown off-balance by Cail's slashes.

The bandits were encircling from all sides, however, and it wasn't long before they began finding holes in the duo's defenses. Cail took an axe to the leg, causing him to stumble a bit, and a few slashes had grazed Marth's arm and shoulder. Soon, they were back to back, feverishly turning and blocking any attacks launched on them and not managing to deal any damage themselves.

By this time, they were also very tired- battles this long take a toll. The burly bandit leader had seen their ferocity fading and had strode up nearby, smiling wickedly as his underlings heaped attack upon attack onto Marth and Cail, earning the pair even more minor cuts.

Slowly, the leader leveled his massive axe, towering over the other bandits, and prepared to charge as he continued smiling broadly. By now, Marth and Cail were backed up against a nearby stone building, and could only grimace in the leader's direction. He slowly readied his feet in an over-exaggerated charging stance, knowing they wouldn't be able to block his colossal attack. He took two running steps before a knife sprouted from his forehead.

The big man stopped, confused, as blood dribbled down his face. Than he collapsed, like a tree cut by a lumberjack, with a massive crash. Surprised, the remaining bandits scattered for a minute, giving a pair of girls on a single horse (a lot farther down the street) the visibility they needed to launch a few bolts of magic from the pink-haired one's Physic staff. Without the wall of men blocking their her line of sight, Senna's Physics landed on their targets: Marth and Cail, who immediately felt their pain and fatigue dwindling away as healing mists swirled around their bodies and mended their wounds. They smiled, ready for another round.

Two acrobatic figures landed next to them, having leapt from off of the stone building behind them. It was Kouei and Nia, making their late arrival. Kouei had another throwing knife in his hand.

"Sorry we're late!" giggled the Manakete. "It was hard to find you in the midst of all those stupid banditys. So Mr. Bandit is helping us?" she asked, indicating Cail.

"I'll tell you about it later," Marth answered. "Right now we've got bigger things to worry about." He pointed Falchion at the brigands who were now regrouping.

"Can I go dragon now and eat them?" asked Nia.

"I don't think you should," Marth said. "We don't want to freak out the villagers after rescuing them by having a giant dragon flying around. Make do with something else."

"Ick, all these weapons are all big and ugly," she said, looking at the discarded axes and other bandit weaponry in disgust. Without turning to face the thief, she asked, "Koko-kins? Can I use one of your daggers?"

"Sure," he answered, flipping his over and extending the hilt to her. But she wasn't even looking; instead, she cartwheeled over the ground and the dead bandit leader's body, retrieving the knife lodged in his skull with one yank, mid-cartwheel. She landed in front of the corpse, looking at the other bandits, and waved her newfound knife. "Let's go, bozos!"

Kouei was still holding his knife out. "Umm…" and even though Cail was mute, Marth could tell by his face that he was thinking something along the lines of "that girl is freaky." The bandits, also, were not too happy about the little girl jumping and sticking her tongue out at them. They began yelling insults and charged.

However, they appeared to change their minds as they neared Nia, and only swung half-heartedly in an effort to scare the supposed eight-year-old away. It's hard to hit something that adorable. Nia, of course, didn't scare that easily. As the first axe swung toward her, overhand, she flipped back to land in a handstand so it missed and lodged in the ground where she had been standing. Next, the green-haired girl pushed off the ground with her hands and kicked the unfortunate bandit square in the jaw, knocking him backwards.

Landing and leaping again, she pirouetted in midair, her long ponytails spinning, and promptly did a split, kicking two other thugs. Now they were angry. But Nia's small, quick body easily out-maneuvered the bigger men in the crowded battlefield. Her punches and kicks were not enough to fell them and her dagger left no more than little cuts and scratches, only infuriating the crowd of bandits.

Marth, Kouei, and Cail soon joined in the fray. Whereas Nia was fast and annoying but did little damage, like a mosquito, the other three's bigger swords caused a lot more pain. Nia was bouncing all over the bandit throng but Marth, Kouei, and Cail stayed together to defend each other.

"You know, we can't win," said Kouei pessimistically as he blocked a bandit axe. "There's just too many."

Marth inserted Falchion in the stumbling man's defense, opening a rose-colored wound. He growled and withdrew, only to be replaced with more bandits. Kouei was right- the sheer amount of bandits made them essentially an army- they would probably be capable enough to lay siege to a castle. Marth hadn't wondered where and how so many bandits had joined together earlier, due to the surprise of the attack, but now he began to.

"Yes," he answered the thief. "We can't. But we can keep this group busy a bit longer before escaping. And besides, we have a secret weapon- our very own dragon." Cail looked mildly surprised at this, but kept fighting. That's right- he was unconscious before Nia turned into a dragon yesterday.

They continued battling for another couple minutes. Nia was having a great time- dodging under bandit's feet, smacking their faces with well-placed kicks, jumping across their heads like so many stepping-stones. Yet she remained completely clean, free of injury, and full of energy.

And than-just like that, the tide of battle changed. A puff of smoke appeared in front of Marth, Kouei, and Cail; and out stepped two men as if by teleportation.

The first was small and thin and wearing a strange-looking armor that seemed to be crackling with red lightning or some form of magic. He wore a cowl and wielded a killing edge. His back was turned.

As the second man stepped out of the magic plume of smoke, it vanished. This man cut off the view of the first man- he was positively massive. Colossal. Gargantuan. He was so big he put the dead bandit leader to shame. He was shirtless, revealing huge bulging muscles, and wore a thin headband. He also had short brown-grey hair, big eyebrows, and a beard. As Nia aptly put it later, he looked like a killer lumberjack.

"What in the-" Kouei gasped, as the smaller of the two men leapt onto the nearby stone building in an amazing act of acrobatics, complete with a couple midair flips. Now that Marth and his battle partners could see his face underneath the cowl, it was revealed to be covered by a stylized red-and-white fox mask. The mysterious man set his hands into fists and pushed them together; and as he did so, the crackling red energy enveloping his armor heightened in intensity, creating a shrill noise that attracted the attention of all people in its vicinity.

"Ahem," the armored man cleared his throat, than announced, "Red Wyvern Bandits! This town is now under the protection of the Nightfall Pack. I am going to slowly count to five in an exaggerated manner, and whoever isn't running by then… is probably going to die." It was easy to imagine him grinning cheekily under the mask. The armor energy's noise had died down.

The fox man's declaration was able to produce multiple responses from the bandit assembly. Some waved their weapons and jeered. Others' eyes widened in recognition, and they dashed off either alone or trying to drag their buddies along. Fox-mask held up one finger, than another. "Ooooonnnneeeeee…. Twwwwoooooooo…" Marth and his friends watched in fascination.

Unfortunately, not everyone seemed be happy about the armored man's remarkable performance. A few archers and mages (who had been rendered relatively useless in the ground battle earlier, and thus hadn't participated) now loosed missiles at him as he was starting on four.

"Foooouuu- oh." He tilted his head to one side, still holding out four fingers, than vanished in a puff of smoke. The arrows and magic hit the roof instead. A few more bandits realized what they were up against and took off, as the man reappeared in a second cloud. "Fiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvveeeeeeee." He looked around, at the surrounding bandits and incoming projectiles, and said, "Well then, let's get started." Than he was gone.

At this time, three things happened at once.

The largely forgotten "killer lumberjack" let out a wordless roar that almost seemed to move the very earth under his feet. He charged forward with his insanely large Imposing Axe and began cutting through the remaining bandits like a knife through butter (mainly because they were all running away from the screaming berserker).

In the same instant, Fox-face appeared in midair above a clump of bandits and drew his killing edge before vanishing again and emerged right in the center of them. They didn't even know what hit them before he had vanished again, materializing above an oblivious archer, flipping, kicking the unfortunate bowman in the back of the neck with a crack, and disappearing as the archer's compatriots shot arrows into nothingness. Each disappearing act was accompanied by a plume of smoke.

The last thing that happened was groups of men that slipped out of shadows of the side streets and engaged the bandits nearest to them. Marth was able to recognize some members of the town guard by their uniforms. Other fighters appeared to be villagers taking up arms or members of the so-called Nightfall Pack.

An army of bandits attacking a near-defenseless village had changed to a mass surrender and/or retreat in under a minute. Marth wasn't exactly sure what to think of this mysterious man who also wore a mask.

* * *

After the battle, Marth and his friends were very tired. They withdrew to the inn, where they got a free hot meal and beds to sleep in for their bravery defending the village. During dinner, Marth introduced Muleeta, Nia, and Kouei to Cail; who smiled at each one but didn't say a word. Marth had come to like and respect the mute mercenary in their short time fighting together. He proposed to Cail, "Why don't you come with us? We could always use an extra sword hand, and I doubt the people of Southtown would keep you incarcerated any longer after what you did to help the town."

This was answered by a small paper on which was quickly scribbled, "I would be honored!"

The swordsman in blue held up a hand. "On one condition." Cail looked at him quizzically, and he continued, "No more talk about life debts. You don't owe me one, or anyone else for that matter. I'm freeing you from it. You're not a slave to anyone anymore; not those bandits and definitely not me."

Cail smiled back (this seemed to be his de facto response to anything he agreed with) and quickly wrote on the nearby napkin, "Ok. Agreed."

Nia jumped up and hugged Cail, who looked down at her, surprised. "We have a new friend, Caily! Caily!" she sang. _Well, at least he's getting along with the others._

Over dinner, they talked about what they'd done that day, when they were separated during the battle. Kouei and Nia talked about how they had both gone to the market district, and Kouei showed them a bag of supplies and his new steel sword, which he seemed very happy about. Marth told Nia to talk about the information she had gotten later, when they set out on their journey. After the battle, they were now a night behind.

Muleeta spoke of how she and Senna had rode all over town, rescuing villagers and healing the wounded. After the arrival of the Nightfall Pack, they had helped rally the villagers. By late afternoon, the dead were buried and being mourned and the bandits had been led away in chains by a large group of guardsmen and Pack members to the next town, which had a much larger jail. The villagers had even started rebuilding. It was like the giant battle had never happened- as soon as the Pack had arrived, it was over.

Kouei had questioned some villagers about the Nightfall Pack after the battle (they were all very curious about the fox-masked man and his little army), and learned that they were a mysterious group of vigilantes that protected the towns of Ylisse. Their leader was known as the Midnight Fox, and no one knew his real name. They were wanted by the Queen because of their "interference with the guards' duties," but the villagers didn't care. The Midnight Fox himself had an incredibly high bounty on his head, worth at least five large bullions.

Suddenly, with a poof, the Midnight Fox was there. He popped into existence right between Kouei and Muleeta, and even brought his own chair. Kouei dropped his chicken leg.

"Hey, guys," said the Fox, putting his feet up on the table in a lounging position. "I just wanted to thank you for keeping the bandits busy until we arrived."

"You're welcome," mumbled Marth with a mouthful of mashed potatoes, eying the Fox's feet on the table with a twinge of disdain.

"Oh, look!" the Fox yelped, jumping up and pointing at Marth's mask. "This guy's got a mask! Like me! It's like we're brothers now!" He teleported over next to the other masked man and put his arm around him. "We are, like, best friends now."

"No," said Marth, trying to push the other man off. The others couldn't see it under his mask, but it was easy to imagine that the Fox had a large, over-exaggerated pout on his face, as he answered, "Aw you don't wanna be best friends? Masked guys should unite! Lets make a club or something; c'mon!"

Marth continued pushing on his arm, irritated, as the Fox continued talking about masks and gave him a noogie. "Come on, we're so alike! It's like when two guys with big beards meet each other: they're instant friends! Except we've got masks. That's even better! Let's have a Mask Club secret handshake!"

At that moment Senna decided to run in, looking tense. "Marth! Fox!" The Midnight Fox disappeared and materialized on his chair between Kouei and Muleeta, instantly serious. "What is it, Cleric Senna?" Senna looked at Marth curiously, as he still was in the pose of trying to push Fox off. He quickly returned to eating his food and cleared his throat, as if nothing had happened.

"Well," Senna said to the Fox. "Shaimiel should tell you." She turned around as two villagers where helping a muscular man in white robes to the table. He was bruised and battered from head to toe, and looked incredibly fatigued. On his back, a steel axe and Fortify staff were strapped.

"This is Shaimiel," said Senna, pulling up a chair for him. "He's a priest from the Temple of Naga, and my superior." A villager brought him a glass of water, and he took a huge swig of it, draining it completely before placing it back on the table. He took a few deep breaths before speaking. "The Midnight Fox is here! That's great news. I've come to ask for help. You see, a large gang of bandits has taken the Temple. More like an army, really. They're holding all the Brothers and Sisters captive, and their leader is posing as a Priest to swindle passing travelers out of their money. I managed to escape and ran all the way here- but I wasn't able to arrive before they sent the majority of their number to attack the village." He smiled slightly. "It seems you showed them. "

"That we did," said the Midnight Fox, standing up. "Let's get you rested up tonight, my good priest, and tomorrow I'll join you in making for the Temple."

"I'll come too," said Senna, clutching her staff. "The Temple of Naga is in the Southtown vicinity, and is therefore under my protection."

"Okay!" said the Fox, and he spun around to face Marth. "What about you, my fellow masked man? Will you join us? You helped defend the village, after all."

"Unfortunately, we need to leave tomorrow," Marth answered politely. "Our trip is already delayed."

"Nuh-uh!" interjected Nia before the Fox could voice his disappointment over the fact that his fellow masked man would be leaving. "Linskar, descendant of the Swordmaster Lina, should be at the Temple of Naga as we speak! He's one of the people we need to find, Marthy-marth-kins. And he's at the Temple. We're gonna have to go with them if we want to find him!"

"Are you sure?" asked Marth apprehensively. "You could be mistaken-"

"No, It's for reals!" squealed the Manakete. "He's been living in this town all his life and decided to become a master swordsman like his ancestor. He just started his journey the other day, and went to the Temple of Naga to get blessed before going!"

_I don't want to travel anywhere with this guy_, thought Marth, as the Fox did a fist-pump and exclaimed, "Yay! Masks for the win! It's settled then- I'll see you all tomorrow!" Than he vanished.

Senna left with Shaimiel to find him a bedroom at the inn, and the five friends went up to their beds as well. They had a long (and irritating, in Marth's opinion) day ahead of them tomorrow.

* * *

**Yeah, I sort of went overboard with the Dread Fighter (Midnight Fox's class)'s powers. But it's cool so whatever.**

**Also! This is important! Anyone who reads my fic- please vote on two support conversations! PM me or say it in a review, I don't care. But any time the group is traveling, there will be support conversations for a bit of character defining (and effect the story later). But who supports with who is determined by you, the readers!**

**This is the first Support chapter, so it's going to be small, with only two Supports. So everyone can vote twice! If you want, vote for the same Support twice.**

**Both Supports this time will be Friendship Supports. That means no male x female, because I'm going to wait for later chapters and more characters for that.**

**So the possible combinations are: Kouei and Cail, Muleeta and Nia, or Marth/Lucina and any of the four (she can't S-rank Support with anyone because she already has a hubbie back in her own time- who do you think that should be?).**

**Anyways, have a happy day :D**


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